Pan-Arabism Before Nasser: Egyptian Power Politics and the Palestine Question

Michael Doran

Abstract

This book aims to profoundly alter the accepted version of the history of post-World War II pan-Arabic foreign policy. To this end, it demonstrates the absence of any true pan-Arabic front from the very beginning of the Arab League. Reconsidering Cairo's policy decisions during the critical years from 1944 to 1948, it proves that Egyptian national interests were always placed before the united Arab front against Israel. Even while participating in the 1948 war with Israel, Egypt regarded Zionism and the Palestine Question as less important than achieving independence from Britain and thwarting ... More

This book aims to profoundly alter the accepted version of the history of post-World War II pan-Arabic foreign policy. To this end, it demonstrates the absence of any true pan-Arabic front from the very beginning of the Arab League. Reconsidering Cairo's policy decisions during the critical years from 1944 to 1948, it proves that Egyptian national interests were always placed before the united Arab front against Israel. Even while participating in the 1948 war with Israel, Egypt regarded Zionism and the Palestine Question as less important than achieving independence from Britain and thwarting the expansionist aims of Iraq and Jordan. Ultimately, this study is a rethinking of twentieth-century Middle Eastern politics and history, with key implications for both the study of the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict and the volatile politics of the Middle East in general.

End Matter

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